There is very little that is weirder than standing on a beautiful coastline next to a quaint fishing village while being surrounded by giant lifelike phallic statues; however, if you visit the fishing village of Sinnam on South Korea’s east coast you too can experience one of the oddest tourist attractions in all of Asia.
The park, officially called Haesindang Park, sits on a hillside overlooking the town and the nearby sea. As the story goes, a young virgin was left on a nearby island by her fiance so that she could collect seaweed. However, the weather soon turned for the worse, and the fiance couldn’t rescue the young maiden, who drowned in the stormy sea. From that moment, the fisherman were unable to catch enough fish to fill their nets.
Eventually, someone decided that the spirit of the young woman might be appeased by the carving of several penises. When the fish returned soon after the offering, the town carved more and more statues, many of them very large and very lifelike, to satisfy the spirit of the maiden.
From that humble beginning, Haesindang Park was created on a hilltop overlooking the town.
Visiting the park is a very surreal experience. On one hand, you have the beautiful coast of Korea, and on the other, you have large penises. The landscaping is actually quite nice and incorporates the penises very well.
The carvings themselves are highly varied. Some are small and used as armrests for benches or railings, while others are over two meters tall. Of the large ones, some have comical faces, while others are very realistic. There is even a beautiful garden area that features a large penis that rises and falls as part of a water feature and another large penis perfect for pictures.
To me, the most amusing part of visiting the park was watching the old Korean women posing with the statues and taking a variety of photos. The park is also visited by the occasional Korean family, complete with kids in tow; it’s an odd place to bring your children if you ask me.
Haesindang Park is definitely worth visiting while in South Korea for the oddity of the site and the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
Getting to Haesindang Park
While worthwhile, visiting the park is somewhat time consuming. Buses leave for Samcheok from Seoul multiple times everyday and take about 3.5 hours. When you arrive in Samcheok, take a local bus (numbers 20, 90, or 90-1) from the bus station to Haesindang Park. It should take about 40-50 minutes to reach the park. The entrance fee for the park is 3,000 Won.
Jim Cheney is the creator of Tripologist.com. Having traveled extensively in North America, Europe, and Asia, Jim enjoys sharing his love of travel and some of his favorite places to visit around the world. He lives in Pennsylvania, USA, with his wife and two kids.
This is awesome! 🙂
This is the number one place I want to visit – but, out all the way in Gangwon-do, it’s not the quickest place to get to from most places in Korea (about 4-4.5 hours on a bus from Daejeon). Love the post and hope to get there and take some inappropriate photos over the summer.
There are a lot of opportunities to take inappropriate photos. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your visit. Thanks for the comment.
Quite special. Quite special, indeed.
Thank you. I’ve decided to visit of a couple of places recommended by you. Thanks again.